The outside 'backer from Loxahatchee picked up offers from Purdue and Mississippi State, bringing his total to an even dozen.

"I was really excited about it," he said when asked about the Boilermakers' offer. "It made my weekend when I got that on Memorial Day. Coach called me and told me to call Coach (Gary) Nord, and he told me.

"Coach Nord has been talking to me a lot and telling me a lot of good things about the school. He's been giving me a lot of information."

Purdue's a possibility to earn a trip too this summer, due to a family connection. Dixon has an uncle who lives in Indianapolis, an hour south of the Boilermaker campus.

"I'll probably fly up there to see him and we'll head over to Purdue to see it," Dixon said.

Dixon, who as a junior had Seminole Ridge had 75 tackles and five sacks, has offers from Florida International, Minnesota, Temple and West Virginia, to go with those from Purdue and Mississippi State and others. He's also getting a lot of interest from Wake Forest, Vandy, SMU, Rutgers and Kentucky.

He doesn't have a favorite at this point.

"I want to narrow it down after I take some visits," he said. "I haven't gotten any visits secured at this point, but I know I'm going to go to a couple places, (including Purdue)."

Purdue sounds intriguing he says. He's been told that the Boilermakers have 25 or so players from Florida, so he understands they've recruited the area hard the last few years.

"So that sounds good," he said. " (And) they have a new linebackers coach, and run a 4-3 but will blitz off the edge. They'd like me to be able to blitz and cover too, and said I could be a three- to four-year starter."

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Dixon says he'd like to take a few visits this summer, then some officials in the fall before making a mid-season decision.

"When I get there, I want it to feel like me," he said of making a choice. "If it's a place I want to be for three, four, five years, that's important. And the academics and the feel for the environment. Do I want to spend some of my life there?"

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